Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) Given New $30.00 Price Target at Macquarie

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Macquarie from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Macquarie's price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.66% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WMG. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Warner Music Group in a report on Friday, July 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Tigress Financial decreased their price target on Warner Music Group from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Warner Music Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.17.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

WMG traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $31.14. 463,930 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,871,477. Warner Music Group has a 12-month low of $27.06 and a 12-month high of $38.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.38 and a 200-day moving average of $30.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.38.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 101.32% and a net margin of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Max Lousada sold 428,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $12,007,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,289,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,113,588. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 628,205 shares of company stock valued at $17,628,757. Corporate insiders own 73.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Warner Music Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,201,194 shares of the company's stock worth $435,903,000 after acquiring an additional 3,881,684 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,861,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,679,000 after purchasing an additional 192,215 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Warner Music Group by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 8,072,372 shares of the company's stock worth $247,418,000 after buying an additional 2,594,994 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Warner Music Group in the 2nd quarter worth $160,156,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Warner Music Group by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,198,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,232 shares during the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.